Baby diapers are more leak-proof than NEET papers

NEET –2026 exam has been cancelled. The reason: Question paper leaked. This has become a perennial problem that is quite infuriating. Worse is that it evolved into a cycle.

NEET paper leaks aren’t just an exam issue. They are a trust issue. The immediate victims are the students. Months of 14-hour study hours, family sacrifices and debts for coaching—all devalued in hours because someone sold a PDF. They are left wondering, ‘Why did I even bother?’

No system is leak-proof if the people running it decide to go for the kill by selling question papers. Paper setters, printing press staff, exam centre officials—it takes just one weak link in a chain of thousand. If the pay-off for leaking is more profitable than punishment on getting caught, some will take the gamble. We have seen many exams of this kind being cancelled even at the eleventh hour. The pattern repeats because the incentives have not been changed. Coaching mafias mint crores. Students are desperate. And punishments are slow, rare and weak. Until ethics become non-negotiable for people inside the system, leaks will find a way. The irony is that: we tell kids ‘Hard work pays’ and they watch cheats getting MBBS seats. That betrayal cuts deeper than any exam failure. What hurts people like us is that the suffering of students is exactly the ones India needs as doctors—the ones with discipline and integrity.

I don’t think harsher punishments will deter people. We may suggest several paper sets, digital encryption that might make it hard to leak one “master paper,” jammers+ biometric+ AI practicing reduces center-level malpractice. If fast-track courts can sentence the guilty within three months, there is a possibility that deterrence goes up. Honestly speaking, thieves will always beat the system and when the prize is an MBBS seat worth crores in future earnings, they will invest serious money and brains into cracking it. The ugly truth is we try to build the wall; they build a taller ladder. You make paper sets that insiders will leak. Impersonation rackets get fake Aadhar cards. Money talks, quite literally-after leaking a NEET paper, one may hit a Rs five to 10 crore jackpot. Even if one is caught and later gets bail, the ill-gotten money remains safely parked. An aspirant who spends up to Rs 40 lakh to buy the question paper will end up earning around Rs three crore after becoming a doctor.

Honestly, if thieves are always one step ahead, the only real solution is to ensure accountability, and slap stringent punishments on the guilty. should be severe. Lifetime ban on government jobs, seizing assets, and disqualification from exams for 10 years can deter the criminal minded.

More medical colleges and more seats mean more opportunities for the perpetrators. Efforts must be made to reduce the weightage of NEET.

However, at the end of the day, when fortune is at stake and people are willing to pay for procuring papers, such dubious scams will keep happening.